In Iraq the surge is working but the media is silent

In Iraq the surge is working but the media is silent

There are numerous stories around now about the drop in the Allied death rates, and the reduction in bombings in Iraq. There are also articles on the
the Sunni's forming alliances with the Americans, and driving out the insurgents themselves.

Isn't it funny that the mainstream media is is so silent on these developments when mere months ago it was all doom and gloom in Iraq.

It might be that the war in Iraq is won with a whimper, rather than lost with a bang.

Many good articles on this link below.
One thing, for sure, that the surge has done is created a sense of will among a scared populace. They believe the Americans are staying, that is why
they have turned their guns. If they think the US is leaving before the situation is stabilized, they will turn back to Al Qaeda, because to the
Iraqis, it is about survival.http://www.battlefieldtouri...

HAWIJA, Iraq - Nearly 6,000 Sunni Arab residents joined a security pact with American forces Wednesday in what U.S. officers described as a critical
step in plugging the remaining escape routes for extremists flushed from former strongholds.

The new alliance — called the single largest single volunteer mobilization since the war began — covers the "last gateway" for groups such as
al-Qaida in Iraq seeking new havens in northern Iraq, U.S. military officials said.

U.S. commanders have tried to build a ring around insurgents who fled military offensives launched earlier this year in the western Anbar province and
later into Baghdad and surrounding areas. In many places, the U.S.-led battles were given key help from tribal militias — mainly Sunnis — that had
turned against al-Qaida and other groups.

Extremists have sought new footholds in northern areas once loyal to Saddam Hussein's Baath party as the U.S.-led gains have mounted across central
regions. But their ability to strike near the capital remains.

A woman wearing an explosive-rigged belt blew herself up near an American patrol near Baqouba, about 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, the military
announced Wednesday. The blast on Tuesday — a rare attack by a female suicide bomber — wounded seven U.S. troops and five Iraqis, the statement
said.

The ceremony to pledge the 6,000 new fighters was presided over by dozen sheiks — each draped in black robes trimmed with gold braiding — who signed
the contract on behalf of tribesmen at a small U.S. outpost in north-central Iraq.

For about $275 a month — nearly the salary for the typical Iraqi policeman — the tribesmen will man about 200 security checkpoints beginning Dec. 7,
supplementing hundreds of Iraqi forces already in the area.

About 77,000 Iraqis nationwide, mostly Sunnis, have broken with the insurgents and joined U.S.-backed self-defense groups.

Those groups have played a major role in the lull in violence: 648 Iraqi civilians have been killed or found dead in November to date, according to
figures compiled by The Associated Press. This compares with 2,155 in May as the so-called "surge" of nearly 30,000 additional American troops
gained momentum.

U.S. troop deaths in Iraq have also dropped sharply. So far this month, the military has reported 34 deaths, compared with 38 in October. In June, 101
U.S. soldiers died in Iraq.

Village mayors and others who signed Wednesday's agreement say about 200 militants have sought refuge in the area, about 30 miles southwest of Kirkuk
on the edge of northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region. Hawija is a predominantly Sunni Arab cluster of villages which has long been an
insurgent flashpoint.

The recently arrived militants have waged a campaign of killing and intimidation to try to establish a new base, said Sheikh Khalaf Ali Issa, mayor of
Zaab village.

"They killed 476 of my citizens, and I will not let them continue their killing," Issa said.

With the help of the new Sunni allies, "the Hawija area will be an obstacle to militants, rather than a pathway for them," said Maj. Sean Wilson,
with the Army's 1st Brigade, 10th Mountain Division. "They're another set of eyes that we needed in this critical area."

By defeating militants in Hawija, U.S. and Iraqi leaders hope to keep them away from Kirkuk, an ethnically diverse city that is also the hub of
Iraq's northern oil fields.

"They want to go north into Kirkuk and wreak havoc there, and that's exactly what we're trying to avoid," Army Maj. Gen. Mark P. Hertling, the top
U.S. commander in northern Iraq, told The Associated Press this week.

Kurds often consider Kurkik part of their ancestral homeland and often refer to the city as the "Kurdish Jerusalem." Saddam, however, relocated tens
of thousands of pro-regime Arabs to the city in the 1980s and 1990s under his "Arabization" policy.

The Iraqi government has begun resettling some of those Arabs to their home regions, making room for thousands of Kurds who have gradually returned to
Kirkuk since Saddam's ouster.

Tension has been rising over the city's status — whether it will join the semi-autonomous Kurdish region or continue being governed by Baghdad.

The media is very biased. From the lowest ranking cub reporters to the very top echelon CEO's, the American media is extremely liberal.
Since Fox NEws, the rest of the media has had to conceal its left-leaning tendancies but it will still do all it can to sway the American public and
still try to compete against Fox News.

Iraq will have to surpass the U.S. in every aspect before the news media admits that it is coming along nicely.

By Thomas_Crowne:
posted on 29-11-2007

Guess who is helping in reducing violence in Iraq?

IRAN!

US general says Iran helping stop Iraq bloodshed
Nov 21, 2007

BAGHDAD (AFP) — A US general on Wednesday acknowledged Iran's role in helping quell the bloodshed in Iraq, saying Tehran had contributed to
stopping the flow of arms across the border into the country.

Lieutenant General James Dubik, who is in charge of training Iraqi security forces, said Tehran was keeping to its pledge of stopping the smuggling of
weapons to Iraqi extremists.

... Quote:

We are all thankfull for the
commitment Iran has made to reduce the flow in weapons, explosives and training (of extremists) in Iraq. As a result of that, it has made some
contribution to the reduction of violence in Iraq

Dubik told reporters in Baghdad's Green Zone.

US commanders claim violence in Iraq has dropped by 55 percent since the military's surge became fully operational in June.

Dubik said it was still early to assess the exact contribution of Iran but "we hope that the commitment stays in effect."

US Defence Secretary Robert Gates earlier this month said Tehran had assured Baghdad it would help stop the inflow of Iranian weapons into Iraq.

The US military has charged that Iranian-made bombs were being smuggled into Iraq to Shiite extremists and used to kill coalition forces.

Another US commander, Major General Kevin Bergner, expressed optimism that the decision to hold fresh talks between Tehran, Washington and Baghdad
over the turmoil in Iraq would further help boost this commitment of Iran.

"It is important here that the commitments that have been made start to see progress that is strategically measurable and sustains over time," he
told reporters in the conference with Dubik.

On Tuesday, Tehran announced it was ready for talks with Washington over the Iraq's security and stability.

The talks would be held in Baghdad but the final date is yet to be fixed.